The Magic of Fireflies
by shopgirl152
Summary: Fireflies are magical beings; they can light up a backyard, teach you how to dance and light up a friend's face when they're feeling down. A trilogy of unrelated stories involving fireflies. First and third story Phinabella centric, second story Phineas centric. Contains the stories Catching Fireflies, Dancing with Fireflies and All Your Life
1. Catching Fireflies

**A/N:** So I took into account the reviews some of my readers left on the original version of this story, most of which said the story was to short, and rewrote it. It's not a complete rewrite and it's not to much longer than the original, but hopefully there's a little more to it now. Enjoy!

* * *

"Isabella. Psst, Isabella." Isabella woke with a start, hearing something outside her window. A voice, followed by a tiny plink. "Isabella!"

She yawned, stretching as she climbed out of bed, stuffing her feet into a pair of purple slippers. Someone was standing underneath the window. "Phineas?"

"Isabella, come quick! I have something to show you!"

"Okay, just let me get dressed."

"No time for that. You have to come with me now. Hurry!"

"Phineas, I'm still in my pajamas."

"That's alright. Just follow me." He offered her a hand, helping her out the window and down to the ground. "Here." He handed her a jar.

"What's this for?"

"Just trust me. Come on." He took her hand, leading her away from the house and across the street, only stopping once he reached his backyard.

"Um, Phineas? What are we—"

"Look." He pointed at something. A million little lights shone through the darkness, lighting up the backyard with a soft glow.

Isabella gasped. "Fireflies."

"Yeah. That's what the jar's for."

"Um…"

The red head reached over, unscrewing the lid to the jar. "I've already punched holes in the top. All we have to do is catch them." Before Isabella could respond, he was off and running across the yard. "Try to catch me Isabella!"

She set the jar on the ground, chasing after him as he zig-zagged through the dancing lights. "You can't run forever!"

"Oh yeah?" He smirked, turning around and running backwards.

Isabella increased her speed, finally catching up. "Gotcha!" She tackled the red to the ground, the two rolling and laughing before coming to a stop.

"Nice one Isabella. You're quick." Phineas grinned, trying to catch his breath as Isabella rolled off him.

"Think I just earned my tackling patch."

He laughed, putting his hands under his head and looking toward the sky. "Look at that."

Isabella followed his gaze. High up in the sky above them was a beautiful full moon, its light mixing with the fireflies, casting a silver glow that seemed to light up the entire yard. "Wow…" She felt a hand grab hers.

Phineas turned to her, a smile on his face. "I'm glad I could share this with you Isabella."

She returned the smile, giving his hand a squeeze. "I'm glad you woke me up."

He returned the squeeze before letting go, sitting up. He looked around. "Hey, where's your jar?"

"Oh! It's on the other side of the yard. I set it down so I could tackle you."

He stood up, holding a hand out to her. "Let's go get it. We have fireflies to catch."

Isabella blushed as she took the offered hand, allowing him to lead her to the other side of the yard.

* * *

"Wow. Look at all of them." Isabella held her jar up, peering at the tiny bugs inside. "It's amazing how much light they give off."

Phineas held his own jar up. "We should probably let them go. They'll die if we keep them inside to long."

"Good idea." She went to open her jar, only for him to stop her.

"Are you going to be okay getting back?"

"Huh?"

"Getting home." He motioned towards the front of the house.

"Phineas, it's just across the street. I'll be fine."

"Oh I know. But...you still need to get home." He paused in thought a moment. "Why don't you keep the fireflies inside the jar until you get to your front porch? When you get to your house, let them go. That way, I'll know you're home."

"Only if you release yours."

He stuck out a hand. "Deal."

She looked at the hand, only to giggle softly, kissing him on the cheek. "Good night Phineas. Thanks for showing me the fireflies."

He absently touched a hand to his cheek, a light blush forming. "You're-you're welcome Isabella." She turned around, making her way across the street. A few minutes later, tiny lights appeared, seeming to float out from the house.

Phineas unscrewed the jar lid, releasing his own fireflies into the warm summer night, smiling softly as they disappeared into the sky. "Good night Isabella. Sweet dreams."


	2. Dancing with Fireflies

**Inspired by**: Fireflies by Owl City

* * *

_Cause I'd get a thousand hugs  
__from ten thousand lightning bugs  
__as they tried to teach me how to dance  
-Owl City. Fireflies._

Phineas rolled over onto his side, blearily opening his eyes. Which widened at the sight before him. Streaming into the bedroom window were millions of fireflies, which lit up the entire space above him.

He sat up, staring upwards as they swirled around him. After watching them for a minute, he quietly climbed out of bed, tiptoeing to where his brother lay fast asleep.

"Ferb, wake up. There's millions of fireflies in our room! They're dancing all over the place! It's really cool! Ferb?" He gently shook the boy's shoulder. "Ferb!" But it was no use; his brother was dead to the world.

He smiled. "That's okay Bro. You keep sleeping; I'll play with the fireflies and tell you all about it in the morning." The red head chuckled as the fireflies descended, swirling all around him, landing on his face and arms before flying upwards.

Suddenly, the bugs seemed to dance. They dipped and moved in a graceful foxtrot, dipping up and down to an unheard rhythm.

Phineas grinned, trying to imitate the movement as he put his arms out to the side, twirling, spinning and dipping along with them before the bugs disappeared under Ferb's bed.

"Hey wait! Come back!" He clamped a hand over his mouth, remembering that his brother was asleep. He snuck over to Ferb's bed, getting down on all fours. Underneath the bed, the bugs were jumping and twirling, seeming to bounce as a shaft of moonlight hit a wad of spider web, causing it to look similar to a disco ball.

He grinned. "Wow. You know for bugs, you're pretty talented dancers. Wish I could learn those moves." Phineas jerked to the side as the fireflies zoomed out from the bed, leaving the room in a flurry of yellow light.

"Hey wait! Wait! I wanna come with you!" Quickly, the redhead grabbed a pair of shorts from the end of his bed, throwing on a t-shirt before hurrying downstairs and out the front door.

* * *

Perry woke with a start, looking around the room. Something was amiss. Making sure all was quiet, he jumped out of his bed, placing his fedora on his head. Whatever had woken him, it certainly wasn't Doofenshmirtz; the Major would have called him.

But something was definitely off. He walked over to Ferb's bed, holding out a paw to make sure the green haired boy was breathing. He breathed a sigh of relief when he was.

Next up was Phineas. Perry crossed to the other side of the room, peeking over the boy's bed. His heart stopped; the boy wasn't there.

The platypus quickly scanned the room, looking for any sign of forced entry. The bedroom door was open a crack; nothing unusual there. The window was open, which was normal for this time of year and nothing in the room appeared to be out of place.

Except for the fact that the boy's shorts and t-shirt were missing from the foot of his bed.

Perry scratched his head. Strange. If Phineas had been taken, then he wouldn't have had time to get dressed. But, if the shorts and t-shirt were gone and there was no sign of forced entry, then...where was he?

He was just about ready to make a midnight call to the Major when he heard it. The sound of laughter and giggles coming through the window. Quietly, he tiptoed to the window, breathing a sigh of relief as he looked down.

Out in the backyard was Phineas, running around chasing fireflies. Each time he got close, the bugs would float high up into the sky, only to float back down, enveloping the boy in what would almost be considered a hug.

The boy bowed to the bugs, seeming to dance with them, and Perry smiled. He took off his fedora, placing it to the side as he crossed two paws on the windowsill. It wouldn't hurt to watch for awhile.

* * *

"Wow. This is really fun." Phineas grinned as he dipped and twirled, bowing to the fireflies. "I'm really glad you guys came through my window. I'm just sad Ferb and Perry couldn't see you." The fireflies stopped in mid-twirl, hovering in the air. "What's wrong?"

The bugs didn't answer. They paused for a moment, then slowly began to climb higher and higher into the sky.

"Wait! Wait! Come back! Don't leave! We were having so much fun!" Phineas looked up into the sky, his eyes filling with tears as the fireflies climbed higher and higher before disappearing into the night sky. He put a hand up. "Wait..."

But the bugs were gone, back to wherever it was they had come from. He sighed, wiping his eyes, only to jerk at a soft tap on the back of his leg. The red head looked down.

"Hey Perry." His sad expression was quickly replaced with a smile and the platypus breathed a sigh of relief as the boy ran a hand down his back. "Gee Perry; it's to bad you weren't here earlier. There were millions of fireflies a minute ago. They snuck in through the bedroom window and we had a good time dancing and laughing."

The platypus chattered.

"But now they're gone." The red head sighed wistfully. "Aw well. Maybe next time they come around, I'll save a few and keep them in a jar." He paused. "Well, maybe not a jar; that would be to mean. But maybe Ferb and I can make a special kind of jar. One the fireflies would like being in."

Phineas grinned, holding Perry at arm's length so he was looking the platypus in the face. "Perry, I know what Ferb and I are gonna do tomorrow."


	3. All Your Life

**A/N 1:** So this is inspired by the song All Your Life by The Band Perry. The first time I heard this song, I immediately thought of Phinabella and loved the imagery of Phineas standing in Isabella's yard dressed in a tux with a jar of fireflies under his arm. I know that if I were Isabella, I would take this song and put it on repeat, just listening to it and pining away for my guy. I never had this kind of chance with a guy I used to like, but that doesn't mean Isabella can't have her chance.  
**A/N 2:** So while this story isn't 100% focused on fireflies like the other two are, fireflies do play a part. Hope you like it!

* * *

_Would you catch a couple thousand fireflies  
__put 'em in a lamp to light my world  
__all dressed up in a tux and bowtie  
__hand delivered to a lonely girl  
__-All Your Life. The Band Perry_

"Hey Isabella!" Phineas bounded up to the front stoop of the house, stopping in front of his friend, the usual smile on his face.

"Hey Phineas."

He frowned. "What's wrong? That isn't how you usually greet me; you usually sound more cheerful than that."

She shrugged. "Don't know. Guess I just feel kind of blah today. You know how you just have those days when you're down and don't know why?"

The red head blinked. "No." He studied her a moment. "Can I do something to cheer you up? I have to leave for my cousin's wedding in five, but I'm sure I can think of something that would cheer you up. It's no fun being down."

"Phineas, don't take this the wrong way, but…" she trailed off, noticing something. "Why are you in a tux?" Her cheeks pinked.

My cousin's wedding. I just told you that." He sat down on the stoop next to her. "Come on Isabella, what's wrong? You know you can always talk to me right?"

She nodded.

"Well—"

A horn honked and Phineas looked up, finding his father pulling up to the front of the house. "Come on son! Time to go!"

"Uh..." he quickly looked from the car to Isabella, holding a finger towards her. "Just a sec." He stood up, brushing the dust off his tux before jogging over to the car. "Five more minutes?"

"I'm afraid not son. Your Mother is already running late; we shouldn't be much later."

"But—" Lawrence shot his son a look and the red head held up a finger. "Hang on. I'll be right back." Without waiting for another response, he jogged back to his friend.

"Isabella, I gotta go, but I'll be back later this afternoon. I'll come over and check on you when I get home." He tugged at his shirt collar. "Dressing up stinks; I miss my shorts and t-shirt. At least I don't have to worry about getting them dirty."

"Phin!"

"Gotta go! Bye!"

Isabella gave a wry smile as Phineas ran back to the car, climbing inside. She sighed as the car pulled away. "You can always change my down mood into an up one." She stood up, trudging sadly to the front door, glancing over her shoulder before stepping inside. "But that doesn't change the fact that you don't appreciate me."

* * *

"Phin, I told you we were running late." Lawrence glanced in the rearview mirror at him.

He cringed. "Sorry Dad. I went over to see Isabella."

"Well yes, that's where I found you."

"I didn't mean to be that long. It's just…well…Isabella looked really down about something and I was trying to think of a way to cheer her up. I don't like seeing her sad. It makes me feel…I dunno, funny I guess."

Lawrence smiled. "Oh, I'm sure you'll come up with something to do for her son."

"Yeah, but what?" He turned to his brother. "What do you think Bro? What's something I could do to cheer up Isabella?" His brother went to say something, only for the red head to start again. "Wait. Where's Mom?"

"Oh, I told her we'd meet her over there. She was taking much to long to get ready; seems to have lost her earrings again."

"The smoky topaz ones or the hoops?"

"Smoky topaz."

"That's a bummer."

"Yes. I told her she looked fine without them, but she didn't seem to believe me. You know how your Mother is."

Phineas shrugged, turning back to his brother. "So Ferb, what's something I could do that would cheer up Isabella? Because seriously, I got nothing." Ferb did a facepalm. "What?" No response. "Oh come on!" He slouched in his seat, staring out the window. "I'm sure I can come up with something to cheer her up; I just need to think about it more."

* * *

"Wasn't that a lovely ceremony? Shaundra looked gorgeous." The Flynn-Fletcher family walked out of the church, stepping into the warm sunlight.

"Oh yes darling; it was a lovely ceremony." Lawrence turned to his sons. "Wasn't it a lovely ceremony lads?"

"Yeah Dad." Phineas stretched, stifling a yawn.

"Don't tell me you're tired already Phin; we're just getting to the fun part of the wedding."

"Fun part?"

"Oh yes. The wedding reception is the most fun you can have at a wedding. There's dancing, speeches by the wedding party and lots of food."

"Good, cause I'm kinda hungry."

"Well not to worry; we'll be eating soon enough."

He leaned over to his brother. "You know, there's gotta be a way to make wedding services more exciting; the last two we attended were really boring. We should—"

"Darling, where did you say the wedding reception was?"

"Down at the beach," Linda answered absently, digging around in her purse.

"See lads? The wedding reception is down at the beach, so that's even more—"

"Wait. Beach?" Phineas stopped walking, a smile creeping across his face. "That's it!"

"What's it honey?" Linda asked.

"I know how to cheer up Isabella!"

"By doing what?"

"Sorry Mom, but that's between Isabella and I. But trust me, she's going to like this." He looked around. "How far away is the beach?"

Lawrence laughed. "Haven't you been paying attention son?" He pointed to something off in the distance. "It's right down that way; we're within walking distance." He knelt down, putting his arm around the red head's shoulders. "See those white tables? They're setting up right now. See—"

"Sorry Dad; Ferb and I gotta go!" Without another word, Phineas grabbed his brother's hand, hauling him down to the beach. "Come on Bro; I'm gonna need help with this one."

* * *

"Okay, what we need is something big enough to carry a lot of sand. Something that's big, but not to heavy. Like…a bucket, or a pail…actually, a bucket and a pail are kinda the same thing, but still. Or we could—"

Ferb grabbed a jar off a nearby table, holding it up.

"No, to small. Good idea, but if we could get one that's just a little bigger…"

"How big?"

"Big enough for Isabella to stick her hand inside." He held up his hand, studying it. "Soo…something that would fit my hand, but maybe..slightly smaller? I dunno. Maybe one that fits both our hands. Something like…" he looked around, eyes lighting up. "That." He pointed across the way, motioning his brother to follow him to where the DJ was setting up. He casually leaned against a pole. "Nice jar you have there. Do you use it for anything?"

The DJ looked at him. "It's for tips."

"It's big; does it hold a lot?"

"Quite a few dollars usually." He mumbled something about under tipping before turning to his laptop. "Aren't you a little young to be wondering about a tip jar?"

"Yes, yes I am. But, I was wondering if maybe you had an extra one? Because you get a lot of tips, you probably have a backup. Or one you're not currently using."

"What's it to you?"

"It's for my friend Isabella. She's really down about something right now and I want to cheer her up. I thought filling a jar with sand so she could play with it might make her happy. But, if you don't have one to spare, that's okay; I can always find something else to hold the sand." He went to walk away, only to pause as the DJ placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Here." He held a jar out to the red head, eyes filling with tears. "You go down to that beach, get that sand and you make that girl of yours happy. Because if you don't, you'll lose her forever and one day, you'll wake up regretting the day she got on that bus."

He raised a brow. "Uh…thanks?" Phineas studied the man. "Seriously though, if you need it, it's really no trouble—"

"No, go. Go before I change my mind." He got down on his knees, weeping. "Emily…"

The red head slowly backed up, looking behind him at his brother before motioning back to the DJ. "What do you think that's about?"

Ferb shrugged.

"You're right; it probably doesn't matter anyway." He shifted the jar under his arm, making sure he had a firm grip on it before heading down toward the beach. "Come on Bro; let's go fill this thing."

* * *

_Later that afternoon…_

"Okay Dad, stop right here." Phineas bounced up and down in his seat, looking out the window of the car as it stopped in front of Isabella's house. "Thanks!" He climbed out, shutting the door behind him. "I'll be home later."

"Bye Phin. Have fun."

He waited until his Dad had pulled away from the curb before turning around, finding Isabella in the same place he'd left her. "You've been out here this whole time?"

She looked up at him, the faintest of smiles on her lips. "You said you'd be back this afternoon." She noticed something. "What's with the jar?"

"Oh yeah! I thought of something to cheer you up." Phineas set the jar down in front of her, unscrewing the lid. "Sand!"

"Sand?"

"Yeah! Everybody loves sand! You can shape it, mold it, let it run through your fingers..." he reached out, grabbing her hand and dipping it into the jar. He grinned. "It's warm too!"

Isabella's gaze fell to their hands. After awhile, she slowly pulled her hand out and he let go. "Thanks Phineas."

"You're not happy."

"It's very nice and the sand does feel warm but...I'm still kinda down."

"Aww..." the red head furrowed his brow in thought. "Hmm..."

"You don't have to cheer me up Phineas."

"But I want to! Seeing you sad makes me sad!" He looked helplessly at her. "I wanna make you happy. I wanna-wait." His eyes sparked with an idea. "Stay right there Isabella; I'll be back later tonight." He went to walk across the street, only to pause, looking over his shoulder at her. "I mean, you can go back inside your house if you want to. Just...don't go anywhere."

She giggled and his face lit up.

"You giggled. That's a great sign." He turned around, running across the street, calling over his shoulder. "Don't give up on me Isabella! I'll figure out some way to cheer you up!"

She waited until he was across the street before picking the jar up, screwing on the lid and walking into the house.

* * *

"Come on, just one. All I need is one and then I can catch the rest." Phineas peered into the jar in his hands, hoping to see something. "Dang." He looked up as the sliding door to the back yard opened and Ferb walked out.

"Still in your tux I see."

"Yeah. I was gonna take it off and put on my regular clothes, but I got so busy trying to do something to cheer up Isabella that I kinda forgot." Ferb pointed to the jar in his brother's hands. "Different jar. I left the other one at Isabella's."

He nodded, pointing around the backyard.

"Yeah. I've been trying to catch fireflies for several minutes now." He thrust the jar forward, catching a bug as it flew inside. "Yes!"

"Why?"

"For Isabella. The jar of sand didn't work, so I thought I'd bring her a jar of fireflies instead. Everyone likes fireflies. They're pretty happy, right?"

His brother shrugged.

"Little confirmation would be nice Bro." Phineas held the jar up, catching five fireflies at once. "Otherwise, this whole catching fireflies thing is kind of a waste."

Ferb stepped forward, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe Isabella just wants recognition?"

"Huh?" He blinked at him. "Recognition? What do you mean recognition? I know Isabella exists Bro; I talk to her everyday."

His brother held back an eye roll. "Special notice or attention. Being recognized as a person. Appreciation."

"What?" The red head held the jar up, catching several more fireflies before setting the jar on the grass, screwing the lid on and punching holes in the top. "I appreciate Isabella Ferb. I appreciate everything she does. She's one of my best friends!"

"Does she know that?"

"Of course she knows that!" He paused. "At least, I think she knows that. Doesn't she?" He studied his brother a moment. "She knows I appreciate her. Right?"

"Maybe I'm not the one you should be asking." Ferb gave the red head's shoulder a squeeze before walking back inside the house.

Phineas stared after him a moment before bending over, picking the jar off the grass. "Let's hope this works."

* * *

Isabella sat on her bed, the jar of sand in her lap. She unscrewed the lid, dipping a hand in and slowly bringing it up, watching as the grains ran through her fingers. She smiled, only for the smile to be replaced by a frown.

She screwed the lid back on, setting the jar on the night table before reaching over and grabbing her Smart Phone. She stuck the earbuds in her ears, scrolling over to a song in progress as she walked to the window, looking out over the front yard and hitting the play button.

_You could be the centerpiece  
__of my obsession  
__if you would notice me at all_

She laid her head on the sill. "You said it. It's not that I don't want Phineas to notice me; I do. It's just..." she sighed. "A little appreciation or recognition would be nice." She straightened up, glancing at the sky. "Is that so much to ask? I mean-"

The girl stopped, eyes widening as she noticed something towards the front of the house. Phineas stood on the front walk, still dressed in a tux, a large jar of fireflies tucked under an arm.

She yanked the earbuds out of her ears, hastily tossing the phone on the bed before darting out of the room and down the stairs, appearing on the front porch in seconds. "Phineas, what—"

"Isabella, before I go any further..." he slowly walked towards the front porch, stopping when he was a foot from her. He gently set the jar on the ground, sliding it behind him before sitting on it. "Look, I talked to Ferb and he told me-" the red head paused, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Nevermind. That's not important. But what is important is...uh... gee, I'm not sure how to put this..."

"What?"

"I appreciate you Isabella. I appreciate everything you and the Fireside Girls do, everything you guys do to help Ferb and I everyday. But more importantly, I appreciate that you're my friend and I can hang out with you and talk to you about things. You...I dunno. Make me feel special, I guess. Though I'm not entirely sure what that means."

He started, noticing something. "You're smiling." His face lit up and he got to his feet. "Isabella, that's the first time I've seen you smile all day." He grinned. "I did it, didn't I? I made you happy."

"Yes, yes you did."

He looked apologetic. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you how much I appreciated you. I thought you knew. I guess I just took it for granted. I guess-oof!" The red head grunted as Isabella hug-tackled him to the ground.

"I forgive you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

The grin widened and he reached both his arms up, wrapping her in a hug. "Thanks Isabella. Uh...no offense, but would you mind getting off me? I think you're kinda crushing my lungs."

"Oh! Sorry!" Isabella quickly rolled off him, waiting for Phineas to sit up before glancing at the jar. "What's with the fireflies?"

"You looked sad and lonely earlier; I thought they might cheer you up. You know, in case me talking to you didn't work." He pulled his knees to his chest, motioning to the jar. "So did the fireflies work? Or was it just me talking to you? Because if the fireflies didn't work—" he stopped, a slight blush forming as Isabella kissed him on the cheek.

She smiled at him. "They both worked." She laid her head on his shoulder, watching as he unscrewed the lid to the jar, setting the bugs free. "Thanks Phineas."

He didn't respond, just laid his head on top of his hers, the two watching as the fireflies soared into the night sky, dancing through the trees before disappearing on the night air.


End file.
